My name is Areti and I am a master’s student in the Energy and Climate Law programme, one of the many English-language programmes offered by the Faculty of Law. I am from Greece, where I completed by bachelor's degree and took my first steps in my legal career. Making the decision to pursue further academic studies after starting your career can seem like an unorthodox choice, but there are multiple benefits to it. Deepening your knowledge on subjects that interest you, developing your writing and research skills, and increasing your qualifications are all good reasons to pursue an LLM, but there are other factors that might come into play as well. Having made this decision for myself, I would like to share with you the process that led me to my current situation, studying for an LLM in the Netherlands, by answering the questions below.

What is the timeline of your professional education and working background?

I began law school ten years ago, in 2013, studying at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Thanks to the Erasmus+ programme, I also studied at the University of Maastricht for one semester, where I had the chance to familiarize myself with the Netherlands. Law studies in Greece last for four years and my time abroad set me back one semester, so I finally graduated in the spring of 2018. After this, I did an internship at a law firm in Thessaloniki, gaining first-hand experience on what it means to work as a lawyer in practice. After, I passed the bar exam and was sworn in as a lawyer in 2020, although, due to covid-related delays I wasn’t officially registered as a lawyer until the following year. Before coming to Groningen for my studies, after I had already made the decision to pursue an LLM abroad, I worked at an NGO in Thessaloniki, experiencing a different work environment than the one I was familiar with until that point.

What did you have to do to become a lawyer in Greece?

Becoming a lawyer in Greece is a time-consuming, process. The internship I pursued after getting my law degree is a requirement for taking the bar exam. It needs to last 18 months and there is a minimum number of times you need to be present in court as co-counsel, along with the lawyer you’re practicing under. After fulfilling these requirements, I took the bar exam, which happens twice a year and tests your knowledge on all aspects of Greek law. The results came out about six months later, then the lists of those who were successful are published in the government gazette, which is the requirement to be officially sworn in as a lawyer. There is a brief ceremony followed by registration at the local Bar Association and at the relevant tax authority.

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?

In any case, regardless of how complicated and difficult the process is, I chose to see it through to the end so that I can work as a lawyer in Greece. I wanted to be able to follow a case from beginning to end, so completing the internship and passing the exams were necessary for me to pursue a career in my chosen field.

Why did you choose to pursue an LLM after becoming a lawyer?

I found that there was still room for improvement when it came to the kind of work that I would be doing as a lawyer and the kind of work that was available to me as a novice lawyer. I was keen on narrowing down the types of cases I would be working on to the subjects that I am most interested in and, out of my available options, it felt that pursuing an LLM would be the most effective way to do this.

Why did you decide to pursue the Energy and Climate Law LLM in Groningen specifically?

Making the decision to return to studying after a long absence might have been difficult, but picking the LLM I wanted was a more exciting process. From the start, I was looking for an LLM related to environmental law, since that is the field of law I’m most interested in, and the limited number of such programmes in Greece led me to examine my options abroad. Having already studied in the Netherlands and having enjoyed my time in the country, I decided to look for English-language LLMs on environmental law in Dutch universities and found multiple interesting options. There was one that especially caught my interest, the Energy and Climate Law LLM at the University of Groningen, which ended up being my final pick, thanks to its focus on energy law, a sector I’m interested in working in. This felt like an ideal solution since it would allow me to further research a subject that fascinates me in an international environment in a place I love.

How do you think an LLM will help your career goals?

Environmental and climate law in general and energy law in particular are rapidly growing sectors, with legislation that is constantly in development and new topics of interest arising each year. This situation has created a complex legislative system that companies, government bodies, and EU agencies need to navigate with great precision, a task assigned to legal experts that have studied and researched these topics specifically. Filling these roles is the main career opportunity offered by the Energy and Climate Law programme. Further expanding my options is why I chose to study this subject abroad, which should make more international career opportunities available.

What have you enjoyed so far in your LLM programme that complements your career goals?

During my studies up until now, I see that my expectations of the programme were fairly accurate. The courses are set up in a way that balances their academic goals with practical knowledge. We have already had various lectures by people working in the field, giving us a more direct look into how this knowledge can be applied in practice, and I’m really looking forward to the excursions we have scheduled later this year. All of these experiences help us visualize our future prospects and help decide which one looks most appealing in order to pursue that path. The law in practice module provides an even clearer picture of these experiences, offering us the chance to work in the field.

What advice do you have for working lawyers who are thinking about pursuing an LLM?

All in all, this has been a positive experience for me, learning more about a subject I’m interested in, while also building up my skills and qualifications for my professional career. While I realise that this unusual order of doing things isn’t for everyone, I would encourage anyone working as a lawyer with an interest in a specific field to seriously consider pursuing an LLM. It can seem daunting at first, but the benefits, both on your knowledge and research skills and on your broader career opportunities, really are worth it.

- Areti Panidou, Greece, Energy and Climate Law LLM student

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